Electrically-heated boiler.



W. s. HAnAwAY, 1R. & E. E. Rosa ELECTRICALLI HEATED .Boum APPLICATION FILED FEB II i910 @fg-W INVEN Patented Nov. 2, 1.915.

TORS 2K TTORNEY UNITED 4 STATES earner ernten.

WILLIAM S. HADAWAY, JR., OF EAST ORANGE, NEIV JERSEY, AND EDWARD E. ROSE, OF SNISSVALE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO VJESTINGHOUSE ELECTRC AND LZLANUEACTUBING COMANY, .A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRICALLY-HEATED BOILER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

To all whom, 'it may fo/acera:

Be it known that we, iVlLLiAM S. ilumwir, Jr., and llnwino E. Rosie, citizens of the United States, and residents, respectively, of Allast Orange, in the county ot Esand State of New Jersey, and oi Swiss vale, in the county ot' .lillegieirv and State o1t` Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in lllectricallydleated Boilers, ot which the tollowing is a specilication.

Our invention relates to steam generators and it has special reference to such generators as are supplied with electrical energy and are adapted for heating purposes.

`he object ot our invention is to provide a simple and durable boiler which shall be capable et carrying relatively, high working pressures and shall etliciently convert electrical energy into useful heat and'also be adapted vtor connection to relatively highvoltage circuits.

Electric locomotives which are employed for drawin(r passenger trains otl the type designed and constructed to be hauledby steam locomotives, are prete 'ably provided with steam heating boilers in order that the cars may be maintained at a comfortable temperature in cold weather.

1t is our aim to provide a boiler which shall be especially adapted for the purpose indicated above and which shall consume electric energy. ll'c accordingly provide a boiler in which a plurality ot electric heating units are. substituted for the usual lire tubes, the structure ci the units being such that va very large percentage et the heat generated in the resistance transferred by conduction tothe water in the boiler. ln order that the boiler may be lept Contiir uously in service. the circuit connections between the resistance unils and the structure ot each unit are such that one or more units may easily be cut out ot circuit without materially aii'ecting the operation of' the device or increi'isingr the electrical strains upon the units remaining in service.

Figure l is an end or top view and Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation et a boil r that einbodies our invention. Fig. 23 is a longitudinal. section, on larger scale, of one ot the heater units which are shown in Fig. 2. igs. to 9, inclusive, are detail views ot the .Stincture shown in Fia'. 3.

The boiler shown in Figs. l and 2 comprises a cylindrical tank (i having a head 7 at one end, heads andl) at the other end, and a plurality ot heater units l which extend through the heads and are calked in the usual manner. Each of the heater units comprises two short lengths 1l of boiler tubing connected by one or more liattened metal'tubes l2 which constitutevcovers for the resistance element of the heater.

The heater unit may be ot any suitable type, although we prefer to employ that shown and described in our co-pending appli ation, Serial No. 777,063, tiled July 2, 1913, and assigned to the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, which a division of the present application.

i The unliattened ends l ot' the flattened tubes 12, are sealed into small heads of plugs 2 that are sealed within the inner ends of the short tubes ll, as shownin Fig. The insulating envelops ll are longer than the lattened tubes and a number ot' mica wash ers i5 are iitted upon their ends within the tubes 11.' The two resistance ribbons of each heater unit are joined together at their endsI so that current may traverse them in paral lel, but theI heater units themselves may be connected in any suitable manner, according to the voltage of the circuit from which electrical energy is taken.

The mains ior connecting the ribbons of each unittogether is shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and (i and comprises a short tube. 3, a block l litted between the ribbons within the tube 3 and two segmental blocks 5 iitted between the block il and the tube 3 and serv ing to wedge the ribbons rigidly between the said blocks. A binding screw 1G and binding plates 17 are provided to cooperate with the block LlY in electrically connecting a circuit conductor (not shown) to the ribbons 1&3. The members l2 pertaining to each unit may be retained in proper relation to ,each other by means ot clipslS and screws 1t), the number and location of these devices being determined by the lengths ot' the members l2 and the particular service in connection with which they are used.

rThe design of the boiler is such that the length of each resistance unit is considerable and the structure ot' each unit is such that its resistance is 'comparatively high, and, consequently, the units may be connected in multiple circuit even if the boiler is .supplied With energy from a relatively high-voltage circuit. `l/Vhen connected in this manner, it is, ofgcourse, possible to eX- clude one or more of the resistance units in case of injury or short-circuit, or, for any other reason. The great advantage in this arrangement is that the boiler is not rendered unfit for service for any length of time simply by the failure of one of the resistance elements.

The short tubes at the ends of the heater units are used in order that the element may be expanded into the boiler heads and also form a protecting casingT for the terminals of the resistance element. lnsulating tubes 20 are litted into them for the purpose of providing an insulating lining.

It Will be observed that the structure of the device is such that relatively high Working pressures may be used without danger of injuring the apparatus. The steam pressure, in fact, tends to hold the Walls of the flattened metal tubes very closely in engageinent with the insulated resistance units so that the heat generated is more readily transferred to the Water.

It is evident that the structure illustrated may be utilized for various purposes and that structural modifications may be effected within the spirit and Scope of our invention.

We claim as our invention:

l. An electrically heated boiler comprising a fluid-containing vessel and a'heating element consisting of a plurality of resistance units, the ends of which are received in a single pair of oppositely disposed terminal devices.

2. An electrically heated boiler comprising a fluid-containing vessel and a heating element consisting of a plurality'of flattened tubular units, the ends of which are received in a single pair of terminal devices.

3. An electrically heated boiler comprising a fluid-containing tank and a plurality of heating units extending through the tanks and severally comprising insulated resistance elements, metal sheaths or casings for said resistance elements and short metal tubes in which said sheaths or casings are sealed.

4. An electrically heated boiler comprising a fluid-containing tank and a plurality of heating units extending through the tank from end to endand comprising relatively short end tubeswhich are headed into the ends of the tanln,I interposed flattened metal tubes that are sealed into the short tubes, and insulated'lr'esistance units disposed within the flattened tubes.

5. An electrically heated boiler compris- 'ing a {luid-containing tank and a plurality i interposed flattened metal tubes sealed into the short tubes, and resistance ribbons located within the flattened tubes and separated therefroin by insulation partially coinposed of clear mica.

7. An electrically heated boiler comprising a fluid-containing tank and a plurality of heating units extending through the tank from end to end and comprising relatively short end tubes headed into the ends of the tank and provided with insulating linings, interposed flattened metal tubes, sealed into the short tubes and resistance ribbons having a ph'u/ality of slots cut alternately in opposite to provide a zigzag path for electric fcurrent, said ribbons Vbeing located within the flattened tubes and separated therefrom by insulation composed of an inner layer of clear mica and an. outer layer or coveringl of molded inica insulation.

ln testimony whereof, We have hereunto subscribed our names this 5th day of Feb.

WILLI[ill/I S. HADAWAY, da.

EDWARD E. RSE. lllitnesses FRANK THORNTON, dr.,

B. B. Hines. 

